I plan to buy shortly The Gospel of Luke (Commentary) (1991) from Luke Timothy Johnson.

Does anyone has experience with this book? Is it a good one?

I wanted to found out sth about his background. I found only that he was a Benedictine monk and priest from 1963 to 1972 and then it is only said that he married in 1974 and is stepfather to six children and father of one. What happened with his priesthood I did not find out…

I actually attend seminary at the monastery where Luke Timothy Johnson used to live. The Scripture scholar we have on faculty said he was one of their brightest students and that after they paid for his great education he wound up leaving the priesthood. He never mentioned the specifics, but he said that his work is all really, really, really good.

I read some pieces of his work “The Creed” or something similar about the Apostle’s and Nicean Creeds. Great writing.

By the standards of this board (or official Catholic teaching for that matter) Johnson is quite liberal on certain issues (women’s ordination, sexual morality, questions of authority). However, in the world of Biblical scholarship he’s a strong voice against the excesses of historical criticism and in favor of the value of faith and tradition in Biblical interpretation. So people who know him in that context generally think of him as a conservative and a friend of orthodoxy–a good example of how relative terms like “liberal” and “conservative” are!

Yeah, I remember hearing that he has some issues with some Church teachings, but his Biblical scholarship is usually pretty orthodox. That was what I was referring to when I that I was told his work is “really good.”

I actually attend seminary at the monastery where Luke Timothy Johnson used to live. The Scripture scholar we have on faculty said he was one of their brightest students and that after they paid for his great education he wound up leaving the priesthood. He never mentioned the specifics, but he said that his work is all really, really, really good.

I read some pieces of his work “The Creed” or something similar about the Apostle’s and Nicean Creeds. Great writing.

Contarini:

By the standards of this board (or official Catholic teaching for that matter) Johnson is quite liberal on certain issues (women’s ordination, sexual morality, questions of authority). However, in the world of Biblical scholarship he’s a strong voice against the excesses of historical criticism and in favor of the value of faith and tradition in Biblical interpretation. So people who know him in that context generally think of him as a conservative and a friend of orthodoxy–a good example of how relative terms like “liberal” and “conservative” are!

Edwin

Thank you Luke, thank you Contarini.

I today had the book once more in my hands. I wanted to check for instance what he has to tell about Luke chapter 1.

I as he is in favour of church tradition I lacked mentioning any reference to 2 Sam 6… (Mary pictured in Lk 1 as type of the Arch of the Covenant).

I don’t know then if he holds Catholic beliefs. At least it doesn’t seem he sticks to Catholic interpretation of it. He seems orthodox, yes, but not very much Catholic.

That doesn’t mean I won’t buy the book, but you know… it’s quite expensive so I’ll give it a thought :rolleyes: